A SENIOR police officer has called on the public to remain vigilant about people acting suspiciously around cash machines.

The message from Superintendent Julian Platt comes on the back of an incident in Accrington on Sunday when thieves used an angle grinder and gas cylinders to blow up a cash machine outside a post office in Avenue Parade, Accrington, and steal thousands of pounds.

No arrests have been made in connection to that theft and tactical operations police were out across the county yesterday (WEDNESDAY) conducting patrols in the wake of an attempted ATM theft in Burscough on Tuesday night.

Supt Platt said: "There has been a spike across Northern England in this activity. Part of out responsibility is around reassurance and deterrent so we have been patrolling across the county. My appeal to the public is for them to ring us if they see anything suspicious and we will follow that up. That might be the piece of information we need to catch these people in the act."